The Ritchie ratchet, part 2

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie — the Man from SOROS — opposes the proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment that would require photo identification for voting. Ritchie gave a stemwinder of a speech (“in his personal capacity,” of course) opposing the amendment at the state Democratic convention this summer. I posted the video in “The Ritchie ratchet.”

I think the amendment is a great idea, as do most Minnesotans. The opportunities for fraudulent voting are many and various under existing Minnesota law. Minnesota Democrats, however, seek to protect the opportunities for fraudulent voting as though fraudulent voters are a core constituency. Ritchie is Exhibit A.

Ritchie recently appeared in the Valley News Live Hot Box with host Chris Berg on KVLY/KXJB Fargo/Grand Forks (that would be North Dakota) to defend his opposition to the amendment. Kudos to Berg for subjecting Ritchie to a more rigorous interview by far than any member of the Minnesota press has. Anyone with an interest in the issue will enjoy this highly instructive interview.

Ritchie’s points are bogus from beginning to end. He is driven by Berg to a last redoubt: the amendment is “very long.” Indeed, “it’s a long, long thing.” It can’t really be discussed without a full reading. Ritchie insists that Berg have him back again some time soon, text in hand.

Tracing the history of the proposed amendment via Ballotpedia, I believe that the text of the proposed amendment to Article VII, Section 1 of the Minnesota Constitution is as follows, with current Section 1 becoming Section 1 (a), and (b) and (c) the amendment:

(b) All voters voting in person must present valid government-issued photographic identification before receiving a ballot. The state must issue photographic identification at no charge to an eligible voter who does not have a form of identification meeting the requirements of this section. A voter unable to present government-issued photographic identification must be permitted to submit a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot must only be counted if the voter certifies the provisional ballot in the manner provided by law.

(c) All voters, including those not voting in person, must be subject to substantially equivalent identity and eligibility verification prior to a ballot being cast or counted.

Now that wasn’t so long, was it? Ritchie’s description of the proposed amendment as a “long, long thing” is just as accurate as his other criticisms of it.

While we await word from the Minnesota Supreme Court about how this amendment will be presented to voters on the ballot in November, consider this.